Middle East
Smoke and flames rise from a Saudi Aramco oil facility following a Houthi attack in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 25, 2022. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday condemned the recent attacks in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, calling on both sides to exercise “restraint” amid an escalation in the Yemeni conflict which is entering its eighth year.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his calls upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint, immediately deescalate, cease hositilies,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The UN condemnation follows an exchange of attacks between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Saudi-led coalition. On Friday, a series of Houthi aerial attacks targeted Saudi Arabia, hitting Saudi Aramco’s petroleum distribution station in Jeddah, causing a fire in two storage tanks.
The Saudi-led coalition on Saturday launched airstrikes in response, striking the capital Sana’a and the key port city of Hodeida, the main entry point for humanitarian aid into the war-torn country. The airstrikes in Sana’a reportedly killed eight civilians, including five children, according to the UN.
Crude oil prices rose by over 1 percent, reaching $120 a barrel on Friday, following the attack on Aramco facilities in Jeddah.
Guterres was “deeply concerned” about the Saudi-led coalition airstrike on Hodeida, threatening the port which is a “critical humanitarian lifeline for the Yemeni population,” the statement read. The UN has previously warned that over five million people are on the verge of famine in what it describes the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
On Saturday, the Houthi group announced it was suspending missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia as well as ground offensives in Yemen, for three days, in a peace initiative in exchange for Saudi commitment to stop airstrikes and lift the blockade on ports in Houthi-controlled areas.
“This is a sincere invitation and practical steps to rebuild trust and take all the sides from the arena of talks to the arena of acts.” Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ political office said in a televised speech, AFP reported.
Talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been taking place in Baghdad over the last year, aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Yemen, but the fifth round is yet to be scheduled.
On Saturday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan al-Saudi on the sidelines of the Doha Forum. Hussein expressed Iraq's "condemnation and denunciation of the attacks that targeted the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
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